The Marines who fought and survived on Iwo Jima

Martha MacCallum:

Unknown valor: Talking to some unsung heroes of Iwo Jima



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... during World War II, AP photographer Joe Rosenthal piled rocks to stand on for a good photo. His subject: six Marines pushing a 20-foot pipe with an American flag to the edge of Mt. Suribachi, on the island of Iwo Jima. Seventy-five years ago this week, Rosenthal captured them as they lunged together to hoist the Stars and Stripes.

Rosenthal’s photo was instantly recognized as an iconic image that would inspire the nation. The photo seemed to scream, ”Our boys are winning!” “The tide in the Pacific is turning!”

The “flag raising” also went viral. Yet the battle was hardly over: Of the six Marines who raised the flag that Feb. 23 in 1945, three would be dead within days.
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I was only a few months old when the picture was taken, but growing up I remember being struck by it.  Even in grade school my best friend whose uncle was a Marine  got me interested in being with the "best."  When I was in Marine Corps OCS in 1966 I remember seeing the monument in Northern Virginia replicating the photo.  It still has the power to move me and others,

Sometimes few remember that Iwo Jima was part of an "island-hopping" campaign to build bases for attacks on Japan.  The amphibious assault on the Island was huge and was still costly in casualties.

Japan had three airfields on the island that it used to attack US shipping including Kamikaze planes.  The island had to be secured on the way to Tinian which was ultimately used for the atomic bomb attacks on Japan that ended the war.